Method and apparatus for custodial monitoring, filtering, and approving of content

ABSTRACT

The system provides a method and apparatus for a parent or other custodian or guardian to monitor, filter, and approve of content to be accessed by a child or children on a network. In one embodiment, the system logs all activity on a network by a child and sends regular historical reports to the parent for review. The parent can set certain triggers that will provide more immediate feedback when certain events occur or when certain types of data are accessed, or an attempt is made by the child for such access. The system allows the parent to control the filters and options from a variety of sources, including via the child&#39;s computer, texting, instant messaging, cell phone, other web enabled computers, PDA&#39;s, etc.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/395,610 entitled “Method and Apparatus forCustodial Monitoring, Filtering, and Approving of Content,” filed onFeb. 27, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 61/033,304, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Custodial Monitoring,Filtering, and Approving of Content,” filed on Mar. 3, 2008, whichdisclosures are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE SYSTEM

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a system for the monitoring, filtering, andapproving of content from one or more content sources. In particular,the system provides a method for a parent or other custodian to setlimits and parameters for a child to access content on a network.

2. Background of the Invention

The ability to access information via networks such as the Internet hasbecome an accepted part of everyday life. The ability to interact withdigital knowledge sources is of such fundamental importance that parentsand schools have encouraged computer literacy in children of younger andyounger age. Accordingly, young children have regular and ongoing accessto computers and in a typical home or school, to information networkssuch as the Internet.

This increased computer and Internet use by children creates a challengefor parents, who may wish to monitor or filter the information to whicha child has access. Moreover, a parent may determine that a child shouldspend more time using a personal computing device for one thing (such asdoing homework) and less time using it for other things (such as playinggames). Unfortunately, a modern personal computing device typically doesnot provide a parent with the controls that would allow the parent todefine a policy relating to how a child may use the personal computingdevice.

There have been some attempts to provide a children safe computing andbrowsing environment. In some cases, filtering software is provided thatenables a parent to block certain web sites from access without apassword. In theory, when the parent is surfing the web, the parent candisable the feature or supply the required password when blocked contentis desired. The system may also include an ability to search for certainwords and phrases and block websites that contain those phrases. Thechild is prevented from defeating the system due to lack of knowledge ofthe password.

A disadvantage of such systems is the inability to intelligently filtermaterial. The banned websites are typically over or under-inclusive. Achild may have access to potentially harmful material or may be deniedaccess to safe and appropriate material. It also places a burden on theparents to maintain the filters and to modify them appropriately. Forexample, if the child is attempting to access a website that is blocked,the child needs the parent's assistance to provide permission forbrowsing that website.

Another disadvantage of such systems is the need for parents to relycompletely on a commercial provider to determine limits for their child.In many cases, the parent may have stricter or less strict limits onwhat their child should be able to access.

Another disadvantage of such systems is the limited ability to changeoptions or adapt filters to be applied to the child's network use. Adisadvantage of prior art systems is the need for the parent to makechanges at the machine used by the child to access the network. Due towork schedules, the parent is not always able to update options in atimely manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE SYSTEM

The system provides a method and apparatus for a parent or othercustodian or guardian to monitor, filter, and approve of content to beaccessed by a child or children on a network. In one embodiment, thesystem logs all activity on a network by a child and sends regularhistorical reports to the parent for review. The parent can set certaintriggers that will provide more immediate feedback when certain eventsoccur or when certain types of data are accessed, or an attempt is madeby the child for such access. The system allows the parent to controlthe filters and options from a variety of sources, including via thechild's computer, texting, instant messaging, cell phone, other webenabled computers, PDA's, etc. The system can be associated with realworld tasks such as homework, chores, exercise, etc, where thecompletion of a task can result in permission for use, or enhanced use,of the network by the child. The system can track child usage andprovide directed advertising or information to the parent related to thechild's interests as evidenced by network use. The system can be highlycustomized with different rules for different media types, and rulesrelated not just to viewing, but to sharing of files and media withothers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example computer system in an embodimentof the system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a managed networkexperience.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the handling of a content requestin an embodiment of the system.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a first type offiltering by a parent.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the setting of time and accessparameters in accordance with one embodiment of the system.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the timing control in operation during useof the system by the child.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating directed communication in anembodiment of the system.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the credit/pointreward feature of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

The present system provides a method and apparatus for monitoring,filtering, and approving content on a network. In the followingdescription, the system is described in connection with an embodimentthat manages content to be accessed by children on a network. However,the system is not limited to this embodiment and has application to anysituation where content is desired to be managed for a specificaudience. The system may be implemented in a child-oriented computersuch as is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/037,082entitled “Child-Oriented Computer System” filed on Feb. 25, 2008 andincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Example Embodiment

The system contemplates a user (in one embodiment a child) accessing anetwork using a computing facility of some type. Referring to FIG. 1, insome embodiments, a computing facility 100 may comprise a commercial,off-the-shelf (COTS) computing facility, such as and without limitationa personal computer (PC), a cell phone, a Sony PSP2, and the like. TheCOTS computing facility may run an operating system such as Linux or avariant thereof, a Microsoft Windows-brand operating system, Mac OS X,and so forth. In the preferred embodiment, the computing facility 100may comprise a COTS PC.

In embodiments, the computing facility 100 according to the principlesof the present invention may comprise the following elements: a display102; a keyboard 104; a mouse 108; a special-purpose button 110; amicrophone 112; a optical disc facility 114; a local storage facility118; a network facility 120; a camera 128; a touch screen 130; a speaker132; and so forth. The computing facility may be operatively coupled toa network 122, such as the Internet. The network 122 may, in turn, beoperatively coupled to an external facility 124, which is described indetail hereinafter in reference to other figures.

In embodiments, the internal components of the computing facility 100may include a primary motherboard. The motherboard may include a centralprocessing unit (CPU); RAM memory (which may be the local storagefacility 118), such as a RIMM chip, SRAM, DRAM, a BIOS chip; a PCI slot;an Accelerated Graphics Port; a ZIF socket; a disk controller, which maybe directed at controlling a hard drive or floppy drive; an additionalchipset; an expansion slot; a parallel port; a PS/2 port; a serial port;an ATX power connector; a fan; a battery; and so forth. The motherboardmay be connected to an external power supply in order to receive powerfrom a standard wall electrical outlet. Additional internal componentsmay include a media drive (of which the optical disc facility 114 may becomprised) and/or ports, such as and without limitation a compact discplayer/recorder, a digital video disc player/recorder, removable diskdrives (e.g. a USB jump drive, memory card or the like). The internalcomponents may connect with multimedia components, such as an audiospeaker and/or the display 102 (which may comprise an LCD, plasma, CRT,LED, holographic, or other monitor or display device).

Example Software Embodiment

In one embodiment the system uses a custom browser to provide theinterface between the user and the Internet. The browser controls allrequests and replies so that the user has a layer of protection betweenhimself and the Internet. FIG. 2 illustrates an example implementationof a software embodiment of the child-oriented computing system. In thisembodiment, the child-oriented computing system is provided by a pieceof software downloaded from a management unit to a computing devicewherein one or more children use the downloaded software when installedto browse content. In particular, the system may include a computer 201that is used by the children to access the Internet. (The computer 201may be any suitable computing device that is capable of accessing theInternet and may be the example embodiment described in FIG. 1). Atypical browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, etc.) isreplaced with a custom browser 202 that includes browser functions suchas searching, multi-media presentation, favourite lists, browsing,chatting, emailing, social networking functions, and the like and whoserequests and replies are directed to and from the Internet 204 via amanaging server 203. Once installed on the computing device 201, thebrowser application 202 controls the browsing and web surfing activitiesof each child that uses the computing device and logs the activities ofeach child so that the activities can be reviewed by a parent asdescribed in more detail below. In another embodiment, the system isimplemented as an add on to a browser, such as for a Firefox browser. Inthis embodiment, the system functionality is added to an existingbrowser instead of replacing the browser. This approach can be extendedto Linux systems.

The system may further comprise a management server 203 such as one ormore server computers in an exemplary embodiment that can be accessed bythe computing device over a network, such as the Internet or othernetwork. The computing device 201 may establish a session using thecustom browser 202 and then interact with the management server 203 inorder to at least: 1) update the browser application; 2) change parentalsettings; 3) review and approve particular web pages and/or categoriesof content; 4) download web pages containing the browsing activities andselected content for a particular child; 5) download content categorieswhen the child is browsing using the browser application; and/or 6)provide product recommendations to a parent based on a child's browsingactivities. The computing device 201 and management server 203 may alsointeract to perform other functions and operations as described below inmore detail.

The management server 203 may further comprise its own web server 205that serves web pages to the computing device 201 or downloads contentto the browser application 202 among other functions. The managementserver 203 may also include a child-oriented content manager application206 that manages one or more pieces of content that may be browsed bythe browser application, and a database management unit 207 that managesthe data in a data store 208 such as a database system. The data store208 may store the data associated with the system such as the user data(child and parent data), content data, category data, web page contentand the like. Data store 208 may also store a list of approved URL's,web pages, web sites, or other content that may be accessed by a uservia the network.

Approved Content

In one embodiment, the system operates to limit the content to which achild has access to approved content. That is, content that has alreadybeen reviewed and deemed safe by system administrators, by an automaticapproval system, by parental approval, or by some other method ofapproving the content. The system maintains a database of approvedcontent that can include web pages, web sites, video, audio,photographs, graphic images, and other retrievable content. Thus, thesystem assumes a database of approved content that may be added to overtime as new web pages, sites, and media content are created.

Initially, a database of approved content is assembled. In oneembodiment, the database is defined by levels (e.g. Level 1 and Level2). Level 1 is a review of individual media items, i.e. review of a webpage, a video, a photo, or any other individual media item. Level 2review is a review of a collection of media items, i.e. i. reviewingsearch results and reordering or adding items to the search results.(This is what we call categorization) or ii. reviewing a web domain,evaluating all the pages belonging to a domain, such as nick.com anddetermining whether every page in the domain should be approved orrejected. Level 2 is generated by incorporating websites from childfriendly content sources (e.g. DMOZ, kids directories, Nickelodeon,Disney, etc.). Next, a category list is defined of the categories thatare most relevant for children (entertainment, education, etc.). Thecategory list is then populated with the collected content. In oneembodiment, the categories were either populated with what wasconsidered the best content or were populated with a ranking, ordering,or weight for each content source. In one embodiment, an editor selectsa category (Zebra for example) and the system algorithmically finds thewebsites believed to be related to the category prioritizes therelevancy of such content based on the search algorithm. At the sametime, the system fetches photos and other media content from thecreative commons library at FlickR that were tagged with this categoryand pull videos from sites such as YouTube that met this category keyword. The editor would then review the list of websites, photos andvideos and pick the most relevant ones to populate a top level ofresults (e.g. 48 websites, 18 videos and 18 photos). The editor willalso rank or order the content so that the most relevant appear in thetop positions of a search for that category. The system may performspidering in the same manner as current search engines.

The system then looks at the individual pages, sites, videos, soundfiles, photos, images, etc. and approves them on a one-by-one basis.This is the Level 1 category. This is for the content that was notconsidered to be the top level in the Level 2 exercise above. At thisstage, the system may also assign category tags to the content or mayrely on the Level 2 categorization. The Level 1 category also includesblocked content that results from a request for unapproved content.

-   -   Initially a database of approved content is assembled.

i. from spidering and feeding the results of the spidering to editorsfor review (i.e. Level 1 review)

ii. from editors searching using commercial search engine or web sitesearch capabilities for individual sites and adding individual items tothe database of content

iii. from editors learning of other interesting online media items (fromword of mouth, TV, magazines, newspapers, etc.) and adding themindividually to the database of content

iv. When kids encounter pages through the KidZui browser that have notbeen reviewed they are sent to editors for review.

v. The system periodically re-spiders web sites and tries to determineif they have changed sufficiently to require a re-review by editors. Ifit determines that a re-review is required, the webpage is placed in theeditorial queue for review

vi. The client reports problems playing videos that do not get played tothe back-end server system and those videos get placed in the editorialqueue

vii. The client reports pages that do not get loaded, i.e. 404s, 500setc., and those pages are also placed in the editorial queue

-   -   Category lists are defined

i. editors examine popular search terms and create categories based onthem. These are used in search auto-completion

ii. editors examine the search results for categories and if they deemthem not sufficiently strong, they adjust order of results and thesearch for additional content to add to the database of approved contentto improve the search results

iii. The system examines popular categories and search terms andregularly spiders content from those sources

The above is one example of how to build a database of approved content.However, any other suitable method may be utilized without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the system.

The system assumes a default content rating method that is deemedacceptable for all children. In one embodiment, the system assembles andadds content that is deemed safe for all children from the ages of threeto eleven for example. However, parents may desire a stricter definitionof acceptable safe content for their child. In other cases, the parentmay wish to time limit access to all or some content, or to make theavailability of all or some content conditional on some events ortriggers. A parent may also wish to be notified of activity of the childon the network. The system provides a way to accomplish this goal. Inaddition, the system provides categories of content that parents maywant to turn on or turn off for their child. For example, parents maywant to turn off content related to reproduction.

Parental Controls

In one or more embodiments, the methods and systems may be provided withparental controls, such as controls that control the content thatchildren can access (whether on television, websites, games, or thelike), controls that restrict when children can access what content, andcontrols based on events (such as allowing access to games or televisionwhen homework is complete). Controls can be exercised by and/or sharedwith others, such as teachers, tutors, caregivers, or the like.

Methods and systems disclosed herein can include a service that allowsparents to modify controls through, for example, a remote networkinterface, such as a Web interface. Through the network interfaceparents can help children keep schedules, such as waking them up,letting them know how to dress (such as based on the weather asdetermined through the web), sending timed messages about homework,sending photographs or video, or the like. In one embodiment, theparental controls may provide control over the time when theapplications on the computing system are available to the child. Forexample, a parent may set the controls to allow the child to watchtelevision, video, or a DVD between certain hours in the day, whileother activities such as word processing, spreadsheet software and thelike may be offered during other periods including overlapping periods.The following is an example of the capabilities parents have for eachchild account or all child accounts collectively:

Set the amount of time spent doing the following:

Using the system

Watching television and recorded programs.

Playing games

Surfing the Internet

Watching Videos

Watching DVDs

Playing Music

Communicating with others on the Internet.

Using specified software programs

Playing an external gaming console where the system is the monitor

Set a schedule for when the following is permissible:

Using the system

Watching television and recorded programs.

Playing games

Surfing the Internet

Watching Videos

Watching DVDs

Playing Music

Communicating with others on the Internet

Playing an external gaming console where the system is the monitor

Using specified software programs

Add/Remove television channels from the list of approved televisionchannels

Add/Remove television shows from the list of approved television shows

Add/Remove web sites from the list of web sites approved for web surfing

Add/Remove email addresses from the list of approved email addresses

Add/Remove instant messaging addresses from the list of approved instantmessaging addresses

Add/Remove video conferencing addresses from the list of approved videoconferencing addresses. (We may provide a web cam video conferencingcapability to communicate with parents/grandparents, etc.)

Add/Remove phone numbers from the list of approved phone numbers. (Wemay provide a voice over IP phone service to approved numbers, i.e.grandparents/parents etc.)

Specify a content rating indicating what level rating is appropriate.

Add/Remove from the list of system friends who their children can sharephotos, videos and other documents with.

Add/Remove software that is available on the system. This can involve apurchase by the parent or just a selection of software from the list offree titles provided by the system network.

Add/Remove 3^(rd) party content on the system. This can be in the formof music, movies, interactive flash movies, etc. that are eitheravailable free from the system network or for a charge.

Parental Filtering

Categories

As noted above, the system has defined a number of categories, (e.g.approximately 5000) that are of interest to children. A first level offiltering that is available to parents is to choose to disable certaincategories for their child. When a category is disabled, any contentthat has been identified as being part of that category will beconsidered unapproved for that child, even though it may be approved forthe system overall. In one embodiment the system offers to the parent asubset of all the categories that are potentially categories to bedisabled. This eliminates the need for the parent to scroll throughthousands of categories to determine which to disable. This subset mayconsist of 10-50 categories that are believed to be the most likely thata parent may block.

In another embodiment, the system collects disabled categories from allparents and can present the most frequently disabled categories based onage, gender, geography, or any other suitable metric. In one embodiment,the system includes category association data for each blocked andunapproved content request made by the child. The system can identify tothe parent when categories have already been disabled by the parent aswell as any additional categories that have not been disabled. In thismanner the parent can be made aware of risky categories that the parentmay want to disable.

If desired, the parent has access to a list of all categories so thatcomplete customized filtering can be implemented by the parent.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of this first typeof filtering by a parent. At step 401 the parent enters the parentalcontrol mode. At step 402 the parent is presented with the defaultsubset of categories to disable. At step 403 the parent goes through thelist and selects those categories to disable. At step 404 the systemupdates the child's filter to prevent any content associated with thosecategories from being presented to the child.

At optional step 405 the parent can choose to view the most frequentlydisabled categories. This selection can be made with no metrics, by age,gender, and/or geography.

At optional step 406 the system can ask the parent to select from athird party filter. The system contemplates the ability for thirdparties to define filters and categories for disabling based on certainparameters. These third parties can be other parents known to theparent, children's organizations that have generated a filter based ontheir own philosophy, or by a school, government, or other group. Theparent can elect at optional step 407 to choose one or more of thesepre-defined filters and use it to filter content for their child. Thesettings are live in that when the organization or friend changes theirsettings, the changes are reflected for the parent as well. Parents canalso elect to have the settings static, so they just get a snapshot ofthe settings at the time when they selected them.

The system server system enables organizations that want to maintain aset of configurations to do so via a browser based interface. When theorganization updates its setting, the settings are saved by the systemserver system. This triggers the server system to notify currentlyconnected system to update their parental control settings. A systemthat is not currently connected will update its setting the next time itconnects to the system server system.

Specific Content

In addition to filtering categories, the parent can also filter specificcontent sources. Parents can elect to have individual web sites filteredvia white list (i.e. a list of sites that are approved) or a black list(i.e. a list of sites that are not approved). As noted above withrespect to categories, the parent can also elect to use settings thathave been created by an organization that they trust (i.e. a school, achurch, etc.) or a friend or other trusted individual who is willing toshare settings with them or based on community ratings of web sites byother parents belonging to the custom browser network.

The list of sites that is approved or denied is maintained by themanagement server system. The site list is communicated to custombrowser any time a modification is made to the list or a user signs onto a custom browser, without having an up to date list present.

The parent can define these filters at any time and from any of aplurality of environments. For example, the parent can implement thesefilters at the child's computer, via the internet at the parent's orsome other computer, via cell phone, SMS text messaging, via emailinstruction, or any other communication method.

Blocked Request Operation

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the system after the parent hasdefined unapproved categories or sites. At step 301 the user requestscontent (e.g. a web site or web page) and transmits the request from theuser's computer 201. At step 302 the request is received by themanagement server 203. At step 303 the management server 203 checks therequested URL against a list of approved URL's in the data store 208. Atdecision block 304 it is determined if the URL is approved.

If the request is approved at step 304, the system next checks atdecision block 307 to see if the request is one that should be blockedbased on the parent filter for this child. If so, the child is notifiedof the denial at step 311. If the request passes both the system filterat step 304 and the parent filter at step 307, the system sends therequest to the internet at step 308, the content is retrieved at step309, and the content is sent to the user at step 310.

If the URL is not approved at step 304, the system notifies the user atstep 305 that the URL is not approved. The system then initiates anediting and review operation at step 306. If the request is approved bythe system at step 312, the approved request is then checked against theparent filter at step 313. If the request is approved by the system butnot the parent filter, then the system proceeds to step 311 and notifiesthe user that the request is denied. If the parent filter is passed atstep 313, the system proceeds to step 310 and sends the content to theuser.

Timing Controls

In addition to controlling access to categories and specific content, aparent can control the time of day and length of time the child canparticipate on the system. A parent control panel is available to theparent and includes the ability to select from one or more childaccounts associated with or under the control of the parent. The controlpanel allows the parent to set access parameters. As noted above, thesystem permits the parent to control not just general access to thesystem, but access and timing for specific applications as well. Forexample, the parent can limit access to entertainment content andfeatures during times the child is expected to be using the system forhomework assistance.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the setting of time and accessparameters in accordance with one embodiment of the system. At step 501the parent initiates the parental timing control mode. This may beaccomplished by logging into a web site, entering user name and passwordinformation, and selecting the child account for which the parametersare to apply. At step 502 the user selects days on which the child ispermitted to access the system. In some cases, a parent may wish tolimit access to weekends or certain days of the week. If desired, theparent can permit daily access to the system.

At step 503 the parent is prompted to select time ranges during which itis permissible for the child to log in. For example, the parent may notwish for the child to log-in during morning hours or immediately afterschool. At this control panel, the parent can select multiple timeranges on each day, including different time ranges on each day. Whenthe child attempts to log on to the system outside of these ranges,access is denied. In one optional embodiment, any attempt to log onoutside the permitted time range triggers an alert to the parent usingthe communication method selected by the parent (email, cell phone, SMStest messaging, IM, etc.). The parent can then grant permission ordenial from the same device.

If the child is currently logged onto the system during a permittedtime, but the end of a permitted time range is about to occur, the childis notified to prepare to be logged off. Again, the system could send analert to the parent so the parent can decide to permit continued usebeyond the time range if desired.

AT step 504 the parent can set a total time period per day and/or perweek of child usage. This can be a total number of hours per day and atotal number of hours per week. When the total time limit isapproaching, the child is notified and an alert is sent to the parent toenable waiving of the limit if desired. In the absence of permissionfrom the parent. The system automatically logs the child off when thelimit is reached.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the timing control in operation during useof the system by the child. At step 601 the child initiates the log inprocess. At step 602 the system checks to see if the day is a permittedday.

If so, the system proceeds to check at step 604 if the current time iswithin a permitted time range. If so, the system proceeds to step 605 Atstep 605 the system checks to see if time is available under the totalpermitted use for the relevant time period (day or week). If so, thesystem logs the child in at step 606 and returns to monitoring timerange at step 604 and total usage at step 605.

If any of the parameters at steps 602, 604, and 605 are not satisfied(e.g. wrong day, out of date range, or total time limit exceeded), thesystem notifies the child of impending log off at step 603. At step 606the system asks the child if the child would like to request permissionto waive the limit. If not, the system logs out at step 607. If thechild is asking for permission, an alert is sent at step 608 to theparent notifying the parent of impending log off and that the child isrequesting additional time. At step 609 the system checks to see if theparent has granted permission. If so, the system notifies the child atstep 610 and the system continues. In granting the permission, theparent may indicate a new time period for extension, such as half hour,one hour, etc. If the parent has granted an extension based on thetriggering of one of the limits, then that extension will control overthe expiration of any of the other limits.

If the parent has not granted an extension or if a predetermined waitingperiod (e.g. five minutes) has passed at step 611, the child is notifiedat step 612 that log off will occur in some time period (e.g. fiveminutes) and the system shuts down at step 613.

Media/Sharing Filter

In addition to the filtering of categories, web sites, and timingcontrol, the system also permits parents to establish rules for sharingof media and other content. Parents can use system default filters forcontrolling access to media via sharing methods such as email, IM, SMS,etc. The parent can also adopt third party control schemes or generatetheir own control scheme. The controls may be age based, category based,site based, etc. If desired, the parent can have a blanket control orlimitation on types of media such as preventing any media clips at all.The parent can also use different filtering rules for each child in amulti-child environment. It may be that younger children are blockedfrom certain types of media or from certain categories of media.

Remote Parental Controls

An advantage of the system is the ability to control parameters from avariety of devices remote from the actual child's computer itself, alongwith simplified control commands. Events that require approval ordisapproval from parents can be accomplished in one click through asystem parental account and/or from an email notification.

Parents can also provide the approval by sending an SMS message to thesystem network US Short code. Approval requests are triggered on eventssuch as receipt of emails or instant messaging invites from users thatare currently not authorized to engage in email conversations with theintended system recipient.

Parents can initiate a change to the settings of the system from a website, a web enabled phone, an SMS enabled phone, via network enabledclient software or another network enabled device. As soon as the parentinitiates a change to the system, the change event is communicated tothe system Network server systems, which maintain an open connection toeach system. The system Network server systems then communicate withoutdelay the change to the system via the open connection.

Parents can make most changes via the US short code and they can also beperformed as a reply to a request generated from the system. In thissituation the parents receive an SMS message to their phone that theythen reply to with an approval or a rejection. Some of these messagesmay be premium SMS messages. In this situation parents can actuallypurchase items, such as a movie for rental.

Parental Reporting

One of the advantages of the system is complete and customizablereporting. The format and nature of the report can be customized by theparent. In addition, the destination of the report can be one or morelocations designated by the parent. Further, the nature of the reportingcan be time and/or event based. Each child is the owner of his or herown account on the system. All history information for that user(login/logoff time, searches, sites visited, content downloaded, etc) iscollected for each child. The system server system performs analysis andpresents the data through the parental control interface to parents.

The system provides at least the following information to parents viareporting: A comprehensive list of all events performed on the system,including their start, end and duration a long with totals. Acomprehensive list of all communication to and from the system. Acomprehensive list of web sites visited.

The parent can elect to have the report sent to the parent's emailaccount. The system can also send the report to cell phones, PDA's, viaSMS text messaging, via Instant Messaging, or any other suitablecommunication method. The system can also send alerts based on triggersthat the parent can define. For example, as described below, there maybe times when a child requests content from a page or site that is notresident on the approved content list (a blocked page). The parent maywish to be notified each time the child requests a blocked page.Sometimes these pages are later approved for viewing. A blocked pagedoes not by definition mean that the content is objectionable, it justmeans it had not yet been approved. The parent may wish to be notifiedonly when the child requests a blocked page that was later found to beun-approved. In other instances, the parent may only wish to be notifiedwhen a child requests a certain number of blocked pages, a certainnumber in a session or in a certain time period (e.g. every five blockedpages or if there are five or more blocked pages in a single session orper hour). The system permits the parent to define the parameters of themonitoring and filtering.

Directed Communication

In one embodiment, the system uses the reporting capability to tailorcommunications to the parent based on the activity of the child. Forexample, if the child is interested in dinosaurs, the parents may bepresented with communications notifying them of their child's interest(based on usage history) along with a listing of resources related tothat interest. The resources could be commercial in nature, such asmodels, figurines, books, films, etc. relating to dinosaurs. Theresources could be educational in nature so that the child could learnmore about the subject. The resources could also be information aboutother resources on the network that are geared to that subject. In oneembodiment, the communication could include the offer of network toolsand resources (e.g. “skins” for the child's home page, software widgetsrelated to dinosaurs, etc.) that can be purchased or earned by thechild.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of this system. Atstep 701 the usage history of the child is reviewed by the system. Atstep 702 the system ranks the interests of the child. This can be doneby a combination of factors. Since each site and content source hasassociated categories, the categories themselves can be ranked based onfrequency of visits, length of time visited, repeat visits, adding tofavourites list, historical trends, or other metrics. After thecategories of interest of the child have been identified, the systemranks a certain number of the highest level of interest (e.g. top five)at step 703. The system then compares each of the high interestcategories to a database of resources at step 704.

At step 705 it is determined if there are commercial partners associatedwith the high interest category. If so, at step 706 the resource offeredby the commercial partner is determined and a communication is preparedand sent to the parent of the child at step 707. If not, at step 708 itis determined if there are system based resources that are associatedwith the high interest category. If so, the resources are identified ina communication sent to the parent at step 709.

If not, the system prepares a report at step 710 that notifies theparent of their child's high interest in this category. At step 711, thesystem checks to see if all high interest categories have been reviewed.If so, the system ends at step 712. If not, the system returns to step704 and selects the next high interest category.

In another embodiment, the system can periodically poll the child aboutinterest in learning more about areas of interest during a browsingsession. For each positive response the child gives, the system cangenerate a communication to the parent indicating the child's interestand including offers of resources available to the child and parents.

Real World/Virtual World Coordination

One feature of the system allows the parents to set controls that willcontrol access on conditional factors that occur in the physical world.For example, the system can be configured to prevent or limit accessuntil homework assignments are accomplished. If the child presentscompleted homework to the parent, and the parent is satisfied with thework, the parent can then check off the activity on the parent's controlpanel and this will result in access to the system. The feature can bethought of as a system of “credits” and “points” that can be earned bythe child. A credit applies to time or access on the system while apoint is more like a virtual currency that can be redeemed forpurchasable items such as CDs, DVDs, software, etc.

Credits are linked to behavior such as chores, grades and otheractivities. The system has the ability to track children's chores,grades, and other functions that are tagged as good and convert theminto credits.

In one embodiment, Children can redeem credits to perform activitiessuch as games or watch television. Parents have the ability to determinewhat the worth of the credits is, i.e. how many credits their childrenneed to earn in order to perform a credit based activity.

Parents can elect to have the children enter their own checks forbehaviors external to the computer, such as cleaning their room or theparents can enter that type of information, if they want to takeadvantage of this feature. In another embodiment, the parents must signoff on the completion of the conditional element.

System credits can also be tied to system points. System credits canalso be tied to parental settings, so that a child could redeem systemcredits for additional television viewing time or they can increaseother limits set by parents, based on the parents' desire.

System points enable purchase of physical world items, such as toys ordigital assets such as downloaded movies. The system provides automatedfulfillment of assets bought with system points. Parents can purchasepoints for their children and some system points may be included withthe system network.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the credit/pointfeature of the system. At step 801 the parent uses the system to definean activity or condition to be accomplished by the child. This may be achore, homework, the achievement of a certain grade in school, etc. Thesystem allows the parent to define one time activities or recurringactivities. At step 802 the parent defines the trigger that willindicate completion of the activity or satisfaction of the condition.This may be a sign-off by the parent or it may be an honor system wherethe child is trusted to be honest in reporting the completion of theactivity.

At step 803 the parent defines the reward that is to be associated withthe completion of the activity. This may be credits and/or points. Thecredits may be for extra time on the system, for access to certain mediatypes or files, for widgets and customizing software that is earned. Atstep 804 the system adds the new activity to a piece of presentationsoftware that can be accessed by the child. This can be in the form of ato-do list, chore list, reward list, or some other presentationinterface that reminds the child of the task and the reward.

At step 805 the system monitors the task list to determine if thecompletion trigger has occurred. If so, the system provides the rewardat step 806.

Thus, a method and apparatus for monitoring, filtering, and approving ofcontent has been described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server computer comprising a processorconfigured to: receive a request from a first user for content from anunauthorized web page that was not previously approved on a computingdevice; compare the request to a parental filter; ban the request whenthe request is in the parental filter of banned requests; grant therequest when the request is not banned by the parental filter andtransmit the content to the first user in response to the request;monitor usage history of the first user; rank interests of the firstuser based on the usage history; and notify a second user of at leastone interest of the first user, wherein before the request from thefirst user, the processor is configured to present to the second usercategories to choose for content to be banned by the parental filter. 2.The server computer of claim 1, wherein the parental filter includes atleast one category of content that is banned.
 3. The server computer ofclaim 1, the processor further configured to receive at least onecategory of content that is banned for the parental filter.
 4. Theserver computer of claim 1, wherein the parental filter includesfiltering based on whether the content from the unauthorized web page ispart of a category considered unapproved for the first user by theparental filter.
 5. The server computer of claim 1 wherein the parentalfilter includes a white list of content that is approved.
 6. The servercomputer of claim 1 wherein the parental filter includes a black list ofcontent that is not approved.
 7. The server computer of claim 1, whereinthe processor is further configured to determine that a predeterminedtime limit has been reached and to automatically log off the first userbased on determining that the predetermined time limit has been reached.8. The server computer of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to determine that a predetermined time limit is approachingand notify the first user that the predetermined time limit isapproaching.
 9. The server computer of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: collect history information of the first user;and analyze the history information to provide a report to the seconduser of websites visited by the first user.
 10. The server computer ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to notify thesecond user that the first user requested content that is banned by theparental filter.
 11. The server computer of claim 1 wherein the parentalfilter includes a condition that must be satisfied by the user beforethe request for content can be granted.
 12. A method comprising:receiving, at a server computer, a request from a first user for contentfrom an unauthorized web page that was not previously approved on acomputing device; comparing, by the server computer, the request to aparental filter; banning, by the server computer, the request when therequest is in the parental filter of banned requests; granting, by theserver computer, the request when the request is not banned by theparental filter and transmitting the content to the first user inresponse to the request; monitoring usage history of the first user;ranking interests of the first user based on the usage history; andnotifying a second user of at least one interest of the first user,wherein before the request from the first user, the processor isconfigured to present to the second user categories to choose forcontent to be banned by the parental filter.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein comparing the request to a parental filter includes determiningwhether the content from the unauthorized web page is part of a categoryconsidered unapproved for the user by the parental filter.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising notifying the second user thatthe first user requested content that is banned by the parental filter.15. A computing device comprising a processor configured to: transmit arequest from a first user for content from an unauthorized web page thatwas not previously approved on the computing device, wherein a servercomputer receives the request for content, compares the request to aparental filter, bans the request when the request is in the parentalfilter of banned requests, grants the request when the request is notbanned by the parental filter and transmits the content to the user inresponse to the request, and wherein before the request from the firstuser, the server computer presents to a second user categories to choosefor content to be banned by the parental filter; receive a notificationwhen the request for content is banned by the server computer; receivethe content when the request for content is granted by the servercomputer; and receive at least one interest of the user based on aranking of interests of the user derived from the usage history of theuser.